Tuesday, February 25, 2014

I'm almost done painting my bear on the side of my camper. I can't decide if my camper should be called "Baby Bear" or "Bear's Den". I took another close up of the back end of my camper. I'm getting excited about my upcomming adventure.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Today I spent the good part of the day painting my camper. I guess I should clarify, painting the outside of my camper. I am getting it ready for our first outing with Sister's on the Fly. I painted the back, my sister number and the logo. I am still working on the bear with a fish in it's mouth. I hope to get that painted in the next couple of days. The image on the back of my camper was inspired by Cori Dantini. I love her work, and I believe you always need an Angel by your side!

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Last year I picked the word GRATITUDE to live by. I kept thinking about what word I would like to choose this year. Well, I want to continue with gratitude and add kindness. I was thinking about these words this morning because they both rang true this week. One of the ladies I work with loves tea cups and saucers and I love linen and such, so we traded. It didn't cost us anything and we both received things we really like. Why don't we do more of that? If I have things in my collections you need, then ask me for them or let's figure out a trade. Any way, another kindness came my way. A friend of my sister's, Peggy, came to see me. I got to know her this summer, and she radiates kindness! She brought me an old button card, and a little needle holder that she made. How nice is that. So my gratitude grows. Then my husband bought me a drill of my very own. He had bought me a big kit of drill bits for Christmas, and then he surprised me this week with a drill that would be perfect for me. I do love this man!! More gratitude! Then I have a friend who sends me wonderful quotes almost daily. They remind me of who and what is important in my life. Oh how I appreciate the people in my life and I am so grateful for every day I have to share with them!

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Here are the projects I'm working on now. The first is a printers tray that I'm going to display buttons in.
The next project are some fabric flowers. I dyed the fabric with avocado peels.
The last project is a journal for one of my students.

Friday, February 14, 2014

I found this plastic box at Cabela's on sale for a couple of dollars. It's perfect for a to-go craft box. I filled it full of supplies today. It's easy to pack and has some of my favorite art supplies in it!

Thursday, February 13, 2014

My husband bought me 4 of these chairs for camping with my sisters. I just made a pad and a little back rest with my "Sisters on the Fly" number on it. I can't wait to work on the other 3 chairs! I am having some major treatment for skin cancer this week, so it may be a bit before I post next. That's how it goes when a pale, blond haired, blue eyed little Wyoming girl moved to Arizona and swam everyday in the summer! Here is my message to the world.....wear sunscreen everyday!

Sunday, February 9, 2014

I face a constant struggle between keeping my art space clean and organized and/or using any extra time I have in creating my art. I have a lot of supplies as well as big project pieces. I have a room at home with a walk-in closet that is devoted just to my art stuff. It seems like a no brainier that there would be a place for everything, but the truth is, I had so much stuff stacked up that I didn't enjoy spending time in there lately. That is really sad! So on Saturday I got up, had coffee, and began tackling my mess. I took boxes last week and covered them in brown paper and stenciled words on them so I would put only those contents in the designated boxes. Why did I cover the boxes? Because I like things to look pretty. Why did I label them? Because I am so tired of wasting time looking for stuff!!! I took things out of the room that were for other uses in the house. Yes, this made a new mess, but I was willing to deal with that too. I cleaned my desk. I cleaned and organized me sewing areas, and I made a place for working with jewelry and glass stuff. You can now actually walk into the closet and get to everything on the shelves. There is not much extra room, but at least I might not be mistaken for a hoarder! I am so happy! I even put up a pretty little light that I have wanted to use for a couple of years. Wish me luck in my quest to keep my art room in a creatively organized pretty space!

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Today my 5th graders were working on a line design project. We started talking about what we could do with our art. Well, the discussion came around to writing letters and inventive envelopes. By the time the class ended I had created an envelope and told the kids I would pick a name and mail one of them a happy letter in the mail. It led to a very interesting conversation about mail, or should I say the lost art of mail. They were so excited to get a chance to receive a letter in the mail. This made me think about a man named Charlie who was turning 100 years old. He told someone in his church that all he wanted for his birthday were letters. That person told our principal, and our students began writing letters to Charlie. Yes, there were well over 100 letters. A simple letter! Pick up a pen and send someone some happy mail. It's worth your time.....

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

I must confess, I have a fondness for magazines. I am a very visual person, and I love magazines with ideas and beautiful pictures. Here is the sad thing, I bought 3 magazines and it cost $52.00. This is not a misprint! I have been finding magazines from outside the U.S. that are just wonderful. One was from Poland called "Flow", another is printed in the UK and it's called "Daphne's Diary". Long story short, I read the magazines and decided I would make a journal out of one of them. I cut, glued and pieced pages and pictures together. I know book lovers are probably cringing, but at least I will have a beautiful little journal made from the pages. I keep trying to come up with new ways to recycle and use my magazines. Anyone out there have any ideas on creative ways to use old magazines?

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Oh heavenly day, I finally had a chance to play! I had some scraps from my very favorite material, and I decided to make some reversible placemats. I used fabric scraps on one side and denim on the other side. I did a little hand stitching on them and they are ready for my camper!